1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a closure system for a knee brace with an improved pull system to provide a mechanical advantage for applying compression forces to the knee.
2. Description of the Related Art
Knee braces are commonly worn by patients for treatment of an injury to the knee joint. Knee braces stabilize the joint to control its lateral movement, while they limit joint flexion and/or extension in an adjustable and controllable manner to prevent recurrence of injury to the knee.
Various designs for knee braces are known in the art. A well-known design employs adjustable support members, according to which medial and/or lateral support pads are positioned adjacent to the medial and lateral sides of the knee joint to provide comfort and support to the user by stabilizing the knee joint against lateral movement. However, lateral support by the pads require an adjustable screw design to laterally adjust the position of the pad relative the knee joint. This design necessitates using a tool to rotatably adjust the screw members, which requires that the tool be readily available to the user when readjustment of the setting of the pad assembly is needed.
While many of the current knee brace designs provide a degree of support to the knee joint, there is a need to provide an improved knee brace which allows for simple and effective adjustment of the brace. A knee brace which offers greater positive support to the knee joint structures and yet permits the knee joint to move within the normal range of motion during activity by the user is also needed. There is also a demand for an economical knee brace that can be conveniently used by a patient for a mechanical advantage in exerting compression on the knee.